How to Increase IT’s Value to the Business

Does scale matter?

What still works in the way I do my job if the company is much bigger?

Which things about how I do my job don’t work if the company is bigger?

Note : When companies get bigger all the jobs change.

You can’t keep using the same way of working. It doesn’t scale. You need to be the one to build a new process that will scale or … you can be the one who gets pushed aside by someone with experience at a bigger company.

How do I help others (and therefore myself)?

What can I do to communicate better?

How can I share more knowledge?

How can I teach someone to be more effective?

How can I help someone step into a bigger role?

How can I help someone believe that something bigger is possible for them?

Note : If you are not helping others, you are not adding enough value.

The other upside is that helping others can put a meaning into an otherwise unfulfilling job. If you are feeling unsatisfied about being in a corporate role that doesn’t make enough difference in the world — help someone. When you help someone else, you change the world for that person and yourself.

Don’t wait

I see a lot of people thinking that answering these questions is not part of their job. They wait for others to answer them, and await new instructions from their manager.

It’s dangerous to rely on your job description to tell you what to do, or to wait for your manager to tune your job along the way. It’s much safer (and your are adding more value) when you do it yourself.

Take that weight off your manager. If you can get more people in your IT organization thinking like business people, and personally caring to add more value, the value of IT in your company will increase substantially.

Yes, you need to do your job, but you also to think about how to improve the way your job is done. Don’t wait to be asked or directed. You decide what needs to get done to drive the future goals and continue to add the most value. Sort it out on your own and make a recommendation.

That’s what high performers do.

Patty Azzarello is an executive, author, speaker and business advisor. She is known for being straightforward, practical and non-annoying. Patty became the youngest general manager at HP at the age of 33. She ran HP’s $1B OpenView software business at the age of 35, and was the CEO of an IT software company, Euclid Software, at the age of 38.

Today, her company Azzarello Group, helps organizations execute better and develop their leaders. You can learn about her new book, RISE, and you can find Patty on twitter @pattyazzarello.